LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In the March 29 edition of NTW, an important message was shared about the Clean Seas Pledge to “skip the straw,” an initiative where participants decide not to use plastic drinking straws.

As a community that calls itself the City by the Sea and prides itself on using the “pineapple” as a form of hospitality, there is a moral imperative to stop the desecration of our oceans and environment, and to make sure the most vulnerable and future generations do not have the burden or debt of the current status. The Volvo Ocean Race is the perfect platform to put our community in the forefront of this complicated and time-sensitive issue.

Dave McLaughlinNewport

Limitations Overshadow Hotel Plan

To the Editor:

A hotel is one of the most intensive uses of real estate; it’s a 24/7 operation.

The location of the proposed hotel on Broadway is one of the busiest in Newport: our Police Station, City Hall, a busy church and our middle school are all located within 0.2 miles of this project.

Broadway is now a narrow roadway with a multitude of users: RIPTA buses every 5-10 minutes, commercial vehicles, pedestrians, school children, school buses, bicyclists and private vehicles.

Yet the traffic study presented by the owners makes no mention of the proximity to the school and potential hazards to student-pedestrians and other users.

Since there is no setback in the hotel design and construction access to the site is limited, will the Broadway sidewalk and roadway be part of the construction zone over the 1-2 years needed for completion?

The proposal does not meet the parking regulations, and the solution offered (the use of the Tillman dental practice parking area) is completely unprecedented. The shortage of parking in this area has already forced the relocation of a bus stop, and the use of Ayrault and Kay streets for additional parking.

The design is appealing and innovative, and the owners deserve to make a return on their investment, but the limitations of this location are not consistent with the size and complexity of this project.

Rhode Islanders, their families and doctors should be able to make the end-of-life care decisions that are right for them in the final stages of a terminal illness. If one’s suffering has become unbearable, that person should have the option of requesting a prescription from their doctor for medication they can decide to take make their pain-ridden, dying process more peaceful.

Compassionate care is not “assisted suicide.” Certainly, it raises some difficult issues and our lawmakers should carefully consider the proposed act. But the General Assembly should ensure that the people of Rhode Island should have the options a bill such as the Compassionate Care Act would provide.

The Act will be opposed by people whose views on such choices are driven by their religious beliefs, and they have a right to their opinions. Ultimately, though, the end-of-life choices of the terminally ill are a deeply personal matter. The religious views of some should not dictate the choices of those who do not share those views. In this, I stand with the 59% of Christian Americans and 70 percent of Americans of other religions who agree that, when a person is faced with a painful terminal illness, it is morally acceptable to ask for a physician’s aid in taking his or her own life.